1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to vehicle alarm systems. More particularly, it relates to notification with respect to vehicle alarm systems.
2. Background of Related Art
We've all heard them—vehicle alarms pulsing in the distance. Few stop to investigate, most walk by holding their ears.
There are currently two general types of vehicle alarms: one-way vehicle alarms, and two-way vehicle alarms. Both have a remote control-the two-way variety including a receiver, called a pager in the field, that receives RF signals directly from an alarm unit mounted in the vehicle.
One-way vehicle alarms have a remote control range of typically 50 meters to 100 meters. Other common features include door unlocked warning, vibration alarm and a trigger alarm that activates sound and flash, and cuts off the electric circuit.
Two-way vehicle alarms typically have a remote control range of 1,000 meters to 4,000 meters, and a direct alarm range of, e.g., 1,500. This alarm range relates to a maximum communication distance between the alarm unit in the vehicle to the remote control, usually via FM radio frequencies.
In any event, the remote pager in conventional vehicle alarm systems has a range that is limited by the capabilities of low power FM radio frequency (RF) technologies, e.g., to less than 1 mile.
Some advanced vehicle alarm features include anticarjacking arming delay, keyless entry, car finder, arm condition memory, smart chips (tamper memory), programmable air compressor central lock, anti-scanning function, engine starter, passive arming door lock on/off, ignition on/off with door lock/unlock, auto rearming, car finder, panic, valet mode, high sensitivity multi-tone siren, and silent alarm (e.g., vibration) for the remote pager.
Some advanced remote pagers for two-way vehicle alarms provide visual status detection of the vehicle, e.g., door open/closed, engine on/off, hood open/closed and trunk open/closed. Some also indicate visually of any sudden impacts or strong vibrations made to the vehicle body, including a high-frequency sensor that triggers when vehicle glass has been broken. Yet other vehicle alarm remote pagers include an antenna icon that indicates when it's within the operating and monitoring range.
After the remote pager goes outside the operating and monitoring range, the remote pager is no longer able to monitor the status of the vehicle. To inform the user of such loss, some remote pagers emit a beep or other warning when the remote pager goes out of range.
The present inventors have realized that standard (e.g., audible) vehicle alarms are largely ignored by the public and by the police.
A vehicle-based wireless emergency assistance system exists in the marketplace, but it is not an alarm system. Moreover, it requires a constantly manned 24/7 central call center, which results in an expensive service available to those with higher levels of disposable income to afford.
For instance, OnStar™ provides a cellular device in an automobile that notifies emergency personnel in the event of an accident. OnStar™ systems monitor equipped vehicles in real time, with a manned operations center employing many operators who talk with the driver on the cellular phone connection, interpret the driver's emergency needs, and dispatch calls to appropriate emergency personnel as necessary.
In operation, the driver of a vehicle with the pre-installed OnStar™ system is allowed to directly dial the OnStar™ call center from inside the vehicle. Nevertheless, OnStar™ provides no unattended vehicle or other alarm services, e.g., from theft, nor does it produce even just an audible vehicle alarm. The OnStar™ system works quite well as an emergency services device, but has no alarm functionality, requires constant 24/7 manning of a call operations center, and as a result is very expensive, with relatively few cars being equipped with such services.
Another existing commercial service, LoJack™, manufactures a vehicle location and recovery system. This type system uses direct RF frequency communication, not cellular technology. Moreover, before the LoJack™ device even operates it must be activated after a theft of the vehicle occurs. It is activated by a properly authorized operator using a particular radio frequency transmission before it will begin to announce itself. LoJack™ is not, in and of itself, an alarm system in that it doesn't notify an owner of a theft. In this respect, LoJack™ is agnostic to events which would otherwise cause a vehicle alarm system to alarm.
Existing vehicle systems are disadvantageous in that they require an owner to be within 4000 feet of the vehicle, or in the case of OnStar™ and LoJack™ do not provide alarm services at all. Moreover, services such as OnStar™ and LoJack™ have architecture such that it requires 24 hour/7 day a week manned call centers, creating a very expensive service that is so expensive that few can afford it. Furthermore, theft tracking systems such as LoJack™ are designed only for a specific kind of event (i.e., theft).
Other existing alarm systems sound an audible alarm indiscriminately to anyone in a vicinity of a vehicle, to which very few (if any) pay attention or become concerned for the vehicle, instead seeing such indiscriminate vehicle alarm systems more as an annoyance than theft prevention.
There is a need for a vehicle alarm system that is more effective in reaching the person or persons who either care most about the alarming vehicle, or have some level of responsibility for security of the alarming vehicle, without annoying or disturbing other members of the public.